Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients (N = 50)
| Variable | ||
| Age, n (%) | ||
| <65 | 40 | (80) |
| 65 or more | 10 | (20) |
| Histotype, n (%) | ||
| Ductal | 41 | (82) |
| Lobular | 6 | (12) |
| Other | 3 | (6) |
| ER status, n (%) | ||
| Negative | 19 | (38) |
| Positive | 30 | (60) |
| Unknown | 1 | (2) |
| Performance status, n (%) | ||
| 0 | 41 | (82) |
| 1 | 7 | (14) |
| 2 | 2 | (4) |
| HER2 status, n (%) | ||
| Score 3+ by IHC | 47 | (94) |
| Score 2+ and positive by FISH | 3 | (6) |
| Time from breast cancer diagnosis, n (%) | ||
| <2 years | 19 | (38) |
| 2 years or more | 31 | (62) |
| Previous chemotherapy, n (%) | ||
| No | 9 | (18) |
| Yes | 41 | (82) |
| By type of drugs | ||
| CMF | 4 | (8) |
| with anthracycline | 24 | (48) |
| with anthracycline and taxane | 13 | (26) |
| By number of lines of chemotherapy | ||
| one line | 26 | (52) |
| two lines | 15 | (30) |
| Extension of disease, n (%) | ||
| By number of involved organs | ||
| 1 | 27 | (54) |
| 2 | 16 | (32) |
| 3 | 7 | (14) |
| By dominant metastatic site | ||
| soft tissues | 13 | (26) |
| viscera | 37 | (74) |
| Eligible for response assessment, n (%) | ||
| No | 10 | (20) |
| Yes | 40 | (80) |
IHC: immunohistochemistry, FISH: fluorescence in situ hybridization